A MAN was rescued from a smoke-filled house in the middle of the night.

Firefighters broke down the door of the Gloucester Avenue home in Accrington and dragged the unresponsive man to safety at 2am yesterday.

Crews were called by worried neighbours after an unattended deep fat fryer filled the house with smoke, setting off the alarm.

At first, firefighters could not see any obvious signs of a fire, but then discovered the fryer.

The occupier had attempted to cook food, left the fryer switched on and then fallen asleep. Firefighters did not manage to wake the occupant in order for him to let them into the property, so had to force their way in.

Yesterday, neighbours said firefighters had done an ‘amazing job’ and spoke of their own attempts at alerting the man.

One said: “I’d heard the smoke alarm going off but hadn’t been able to make myself heard, so I called 999. The firefighters were here really fast and when they got here, they broke the door down. They went right in and got him out.”

Firefighters who assessed the property said there was no fire damage but smoke damage to some rooms.

Paramedics were also called to the house, and a man in his 40s was treated for smoke inhalation, before being taken to Royal Blackburn Hospital.